SHEFFIELD WEDNESDAY: All guns blazing

DAVE Jones is lining up the Hillsborough big guns for a must-win battle against Carlisle.

The Owls manager has confirmed that Keith Treacy is fit and Ryan Lowe could be back in contention.

He already has the first-choice strike pairing of Gary Madine - who faces his former club - and Nile Ranger and is not excluding Chris O’Grady from his plans.

Jones sees attacking options as a crucial asset for the final offensive towards promotion.

Although Treacy and Lowe were subs against Oldham in the last home match, they both played important roles in helping to seal victory. But Treacy (illness) and Lowe (groin) were ruled out at Colchester - where they might have helped to turn a draw into a win and provided back-up to the front two and to wingers Jermaine Johnson and Michail Antonio.

“You can’t have all the same type of players at your club; you need variety,” said Jones.

“We probably missed Treace on Saturday to a fair degree. We had a lot of the ball. When things aren’t coming off for one or two players, you always need to be able to put on people who can change it, as Keith did when he went on against Oldham.

“You have to have a squad who are all up for it and give you different options.”

Defenders Reda Johnson (thigh) and Julian Bennett (hamstring) are ruled out again but Jones hopes they will be fit before the end of the season.

“We’re pushing for that, which would be good because you’re going into the final games or the play-offs with almost a full squad; it makes my job easier, because I can pick what team I want rather than it be determined by injuries,” he said.

Jon Otsemobor is, however, out for the season.

Jones played down the absence of first-choice left-back Johnson: “What he gives you we’ll miss, but someone’s loss is someone else’s gain. It’s up to the person who has the shirt to play well and keep it.”

Mark Beevers looks set to continue at left-back.

With his team trying to catch Sheffield United, Jones says: “We need luck because we’re asking the team above us to lose points. We need to make sure we do our job.”